Rowboat stabilizer



Oct. 24, 1950 5 JOHNSON ROWBOAT STABILIZER Filed April 15, 1946 INVENYTOR. Llmm uw Patented Oct. 24, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROWBOAT STABILIZER Sheldon Johnson, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application April 15, 1946, Serial No. 662,114

1 1 My invention relates to a rowboat stabilizer and has for its object to provide means which incombination with the upper edges of a boat such as arowboat and with the oars of the boat will hold the boat not only stationary but also hold it from rocking even when 'very considerable waves are running. a

The use of such a stabilizer is of particular advantage in connection with duck shooting, where a rocking or moving boat makes it diificult to hit the moving bird target. The stabilizer also is very useful in connection with still fishing and casting when there are waves which tend to move the boat or when itis desirable to stand erect while casting.

Methods heretofore employed have been to anchor the rowboat either with a single anchor or in some instances with two anchors which tend to hold the boat into the wind. This, however, does not prevent the swinging and swaying of the boat and the endwise rocking of the boat under wave impulsion even when the waves are quite small.

I have discovered a very simple means of effectively holding a rowboat perfectly stable against any kind of movement produced by waves or even by persons in the boat. I discovered that by using a transverse set of bars attached to engage with their lower edges the upper edges of the rowboat and by providing means on the ends of those bars for removably locking them to the oars, the oars can be driven into the mud or sand of the bottom of the lake and then looked to the ends of the bars and pushed farther into the ground until the bars engage the upper edges of the boat with some degree of pressure, and this arrangement will hold the boat substantially immovable and steady through any condition of use.

It is necessary thatv the stabilizing of the boat should be in water not too deep to be reached by oars of common length. But in duck shooting it is almost always customary to anchor a boat in water of that depth and in fishing, particularly in casting out away from the shore, it is also true that the depth of the water is ordinarily not great.

It is a principal object of my invention to provide in combination with the upper. edges of a boat, such as a rowboat or canoe, a double bar structure adapted to engage with its lower edges the upper edges of the rowboat, together with said bars being held so as to be spaced apart a suitable distance to receive the main shaft of the oars, and to provide removable means for permitting the shaft of the oars to be introduced 3 Claims. (01. 11 4 23o) between the bars, which means can be brought to. position beyond the oar and the entire bar arrangement be clamped firmly upon the main shank of the oar.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a pair of bars of a length sufiicient so that, when the bars are laid upon the upper edges of the boat, their ends will extend beyond the outer margins of the boat, and to provide bolts in each end of said bars spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the oar shaft, said bolts having thumb nuts thereon whereby the oar shafts may be clamped between the bars.

It is a further object of my-invention to slot the outer ends of the bars and to mount upon a pivotalsupport the end of the outer of said bolts, which, together with a clamping swing nut, may be loosened to permit such outer bolt to swing away from the ends of the bars and thus make possible the ready application of the bars at their ends on each side of the shank of the oar.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed stabilizing bar.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view partly in section and with the bars foreshortened showing the position of the shank of the oars in the bars as held.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation View of one of the bars and the pivoting support for the swinging bolt.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fi 2.

As illustrated, my invention comprises a pair of bars I0 and Il which have the cross-sectional shape shown in Fig. 4 and which may be formed of any desired material, preferably some good hard wood such as oak or maple. The end l2 of bar 10 and the end l3 of bar I I each has, extending parallel to the edges of said bars, a slot I4, which is somewhat wider than the shank of a swinging bolt l5. This bolt is pivoted at Hi to a member I! secured to the side of the bar it. This latter member ll has upstanding ears l8 and I9 between which a loop 20 of the bolt I5 is positioned, and which ears receive the pivot pin Hi. The bolt [5 is threaded at 20' and has thereon a thumb screw 2|.

Similarly a bolt 22 has its head 23 engaging the plate I! and the bolt 22 extends through the bars l3 and H and has a threaded end 23' which has thereon a thumb screw 24. The other ends 25 and 26 of bars I3 and II have the same type of slots l4 therein. As shown in detail in Fig. 2, a bolt 2! is pivoted at 28 to a supporting plate 29 carried by bar 10. These parts are in all respects similar to the plate I! and pivot l6 of similar parts shown in Fig. 3.

The bolt 2! has a threaded end 30 and a thumb nut 31. A second bolt 32 has a threaded end 33 and a thumb nut 34 which is positioned identically as bolt 22 heretofore described.

In Fig. 1, oars, partially indicated in dotted lines at 35 and 36, are shown on each side of a boat 31 as being pushed a suflicient distance into the mud, sand or clay at the bottom of the lake, the surface of said mud or clay being indicated at 38.

With the oars in this position, the thumb nut 2! on bolt I5 is loosened, and the bolt swung away through end slots M. The ends of the bars l and II are then applied on either side of the shank 39 of the oar 36. The bolt I is swung into the full line position of Figs. 2 and 3 and the thumb nuts 2| and 24 screwed tight to clamp the shank 29 of the oar 36 firmly between the heads at one side of bars l0 and H.

In a similar manner the shank 40 of oar 35 is held clamped between the other ends of bars wand II, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2, being held clamped in position by the thumb nuts 3| and 34 on bolts 21 and 32.- Before clamping the bars l0 and II upon the oar shanks 39 and 40 the lower edges of these bars are brought firmly in contact with the upper edges 41 and 42 of the boat 31.

Thereafter the oars 39, 40 are further driven into the floor of the water body so as to have the boat pushed into the water by the bars l0, ll slightly more than would result from its natural flotation. The result is that the Water pressure upward on the boat holds the edges 4| and 42 thereof firmly in contact with the under edges of the bars and II with the result that the boat does not rock, either longitudinally or transversely, and that it does not crawl or change its position even when quite considerable waves are running.

The advantages of my invention will quite clearly appear from the foregoing description. The essential advantage is that the boat is held from rocking or moving in any direction. Another advantage is that the boat is held by the use of oars which are a part of any rowboat equipment, and that no special anchoring equipment needs to be employed.

A third great advantage is that the structure is very economical to build and to furnish, and is light and easily handled and can be readily carried.

I claim:

1. In combination with a boat floatingly supported on the surface of a natural body of water, a pair of oars adapted to be vertically embedded in the floor of the water body with their shanks extending above the upper sides of the boat on either lateral side of the boat, means for stabilizing the boat against movement, comprising a rigid member supported on the upper edges of the boat and extending transversely across the top of the boat beyond the lateral sides between the oar shanks, and clamping means carried adjacent the outside outer ends of said member for clamping the outer ends of said member to the shank of each of the oars to form with the oars a rigid structure which embraces the top of the boat whereb when the oars are further driven into the floor of the water body said structure depresses the boat into the water to reduce oscillatory movement of the boat.

2. In combination with a boat floating on the surface of a natural body of water, a pair of shafts carried by the boat and having linear dimensions to reach the floor of said body of water, said shafts being adapted to be vertically embedded in the floor of said body with their upper ends extending above the surface of the body of water on either side of the boat, a pair of rigid members supported on the upper edges of the boat and extending transversely between the upper ends of said shafts and straddling said shafts, said rigid members being laterally joined to each other'at a point spaced from their opposite extremities in such a manner as to form slots extending inwardly from their opposite ends for embracing the upper ends of said shafts between said members, and a pivotal clamping means carried adjacent the outer ends of one of said members for engaging the other member in such a manner as to lock the upper ends of the shafts in the slots between said members whereby when said shafts arefurther driven into the floor of said water body said bars being operative to depress the boat into the water in such a manner that its buoyancy is restrained and the boat is stabilized against oscillatory movement in the water.

3. In combination with a rowboat, a pair of cars adapted to be verticall embedded on opposite sides of the boat in the ground forming the bottom of the water body, and means for stabilizing the boat embodying a pair of spaced parallel bars supported on the upper edges of the boat with their opposite ends straddling the shanks of the cars, each of said bars being slotted at their opposite ends, bolts extending between the said bars at points spaced from their opposite ends to hold said bars spaced from each other a sufficient distance to permit the shanks of the oars to extend between said bars, and a swinging bolt carried in a slot at each end of one of said bars being movable into the slot in the end of the other bar for locking the shank of one of the oars between said bars.

SHELDON JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 141,413 France Feb. 26, 1881 703,285 France Feb. 3, 1931 45,260 Germany Nov. 10, 1888 

